Shoreham College Review 2026: An all-through day school with historic character and modern facilities

A school that talks about time, and then fills it. Shoreham College runs from early years through to GCSE, with a structure that is designed to keep children known and supported as they grow. The site pairs historic features, including a former manor house now used as an art studio, with newer specialist spaces that include science laboratories, STEM rooms, a drama studio and a heated open-air swimming pool.

Leadership has been stable since January 2021, when Mrs Sarah Bakhtiari became Principal. That matters in an all-through setting, because culture, expectations and pastoral routines tend to strengthen when children experience consistent leadership over time.

The clearest thread running through Shoreham College is inclusivity. Admissions are described as mainstream and academically non-selective, with places offered subject to availability and references. For families, that creates a different feel from exam-led independents. The emphasis is on supporting a broad profile of learners, then building confidence through teaching that is structured and steady, rather than filtering for a narrow academic type at the point of entry.

A second defining feature is continuity. Younger pupils are not treated as a separate “prep school with a senior attached”. Instead, systems are designed to carry forward, including pastoral arrangements and the house structure. Pupils belong to one of four houses, Grenville, Nelson, Rodney and Raleigh, linked to local maritime heritage, and the house framework runs through to Year 11, reinforcing identity and participation beyond the classroom.

For early years families, Little Lions is more than childcare add-on. The published daily rhythm shows a full day built around story, phonics, numeracy, outdoor play and a broad mix of creative and physical activities, with optional after-school provision extending to 17:00. That clear structure tends to suit children who respond well to predictable routines, as well as parents who value a defined “shape” to the day.

For GCSE outcomes, the school sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), based on the most recent ranking data available. Ranked 1,189th in England and 8th in Brighton for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), Shoreham College is broadly typical by national comparison, while still performing strongly in its immediate local context.

The headline attainment measure is an Attainment 8 score of 55.3. As with any single metric, this benefits from context, including cohort size and subject entry patterns, but it indicates a generally solid academic profile rather than a highly selective, top-end outlier.

The school also publishes its own GCSE results. In 2025, it reported that 90.24% of grades were 9 to 4, with 26% at grade 7 or higher, and it highlighted the number of top grades achieved by the cohort. These figures are useful because they give parents a feel for the distribution across the year group, even though the presentation and comparison set are not the same as standardised performance tables.

The latest ISI inspection (January 2023) judged the quality of pupils’ academic and other achievements as excellent, and personal development as good.

Teaching is positioned as broad and accessible rather than narrow and selective. The ISI report links pupil progress to the school’s assessment framework in the junior school and to GCSE outcomes over multiple years in the senior school, which supports a picture of consistent delivery over time.

A helpful detail for parents is the way academic support is framed within admissions. Children entering Year 5 and above complete aptitude assessments during a taster session, but the school states these are not used to decide whether an offer is made. That approach usually signals two things. First, the school wants a clear baseline so it can teach well from the start. Second, it is less likely to expect heavy pre-preparation for entry, which can reduce stress for families moving from state primaries or from other non-selective settings.

The physical environment reinforces this “whole curriculum” approach. Beyond standard classrooms, the site is described as including modern STEM facilities, science laboratories and a dedicated drama studio, alongside the distinctive art provision housed in the former manor house. For many pupils, those specialist spaces are where engagement is won or lost, particularly at Key Stage 3, when motivation can dip if learning feels too abstract.

Because the school’s upper age is 16, pupils typically move on after GCSEs to sixth forms and colleges in the region. The school does not publish a single, standard destination list on its own site, and there is no sixth form results set to anchor a “stay on” narrative. For parents, the practical implication is that the Year 11 transition should be discussed early, ideally alongside GCSE option choices, so that subject pathways remain open for local sixth forms, specialist colleges and independent sixth-form routes where relevant.

The upside of leaving at 16 is choice. Pupils can select an environment that better matches their preferred pace and focus, whether that is a large sixth form offering breadth, a smaller setting with close tutoring, or a technical route. The trade-off is that there is no built-in Year 12 to Year 13 continuity, so families who want a single institution through to A-level will naturally shortlist other all-through independents with sixth forms.

Admissions are direct to the school rather than Local Authority coordinated. The process is clearly staged: initial contact and visit, provision of school reports, a taster session or day, then an offer subject to availability and references. The published guidance also notes that the Principal may decline to offer a place at her discretion, which is a reminder that “non-selective” in the independent sector still typically includes a judgement about fit, support needs and behavioural expectations.

Two details matter for 2026 entry planning. First, the school actively encourages visits via open mornings, and it has scheduled open mornings on 26 and 27 February 2026. Second, the school recommends early acceptance, stating that registrations are considered in the order received and that acceptance is confirmed two terms before entry. Together, that points to a rolling, capacity-led admissions model rather than a single national deadline.

Families comparing options should use FindMySchool’s Saved Schools feature to keep a live shortlist, and then apply a calendar view to visits and registrations. Where travel distance matters, FindMySchool Map Search is also useful for comparing realistic daily commute patterns against the school’s transport options.

Pastoral structures are unusually explicit on the school’s own website, which is helpful for parents assessing culture rather than marketing. Pupils have a form teacher as the first point of contact, and in the senior school tutors stay with the same form group from Year 7 to Year 11. Continuity like that tends to improve early identification of problems because staff are more likely to notice small changes in behaviour, friendship patterns and engagement.

Support is also framed in layers rather than as a single intervention. The school references a counsellor service (Dialogue YMCA), links with local LGBTQ+ advisors (Allsorts), work with the Diana Award around anti-bullying strategies, a matron for day-to-day health needs, and trained mental health first aiders. This combination suggests a model that is designed to handle both routine worries and more complex periods of stress, with an emphasis on early action.

The latest ISI report also confirms that the school meets the required standards, including those linked to safeguarding and related compliance areas, with no further action required as a result of the inspection.

The co-curricular programme is one of the school’s most concrete differentiators because it is described with specificity rather than generalities. For seniors, the published list includes Coding Club, Debating (philosophy and ethics), Leadership and Skills, Eco-council, STEM, LAMDA, Duke of Edinburgh, Mindfulness and supported prep, alongside sport and creative options such as orchestra, choir and photography. The breadth here matters, because it offers multiple “identity routes” for pupils who may not see themselves primarily as athletes or performers.

For juniors, the programme is also set out clearly and includes activities such as sewing, design technology, story club, choir and band, alongside multi-sport options. A practical point is that pupils in Year 3 and above can attend prep, which can be a useful bridge between “primary homework habits” and senior school expectations, especially for children who benefit from routine and supervised study time.

Outdoor learning is another notable strand. The school runs regular forest school sessions for pupils from Little Lions through to Year 6, using on-site woodland as part of the curriculum. For many children, this is where confidence builds first, especially for those who find classroom performance anxiety-inducing. It also tends to suit families who want a greater balance of physical, practical learning in the early years.

For Little Lions, the published day runs from 08:30 to 15:10, with optional after-school provision extending to 17:00. For older year groups, daily timings are not presented as a single headline schedule on the pages reviewed, so parents should confirm start and finish times directly when planning travel and wraparound arrangements.

Transport is unusually well defined for an independent of this size. The school runs minibuses for children from Year 5 upwards, describing coverage from Brighton to Littlehampton, and north to areas including Storrington and Hurstpierpoint. Collection is from 07:30 and services leave school at 17:00, with routes varying according to demand.

Fees & Financial Aid

Fees are published per term and are effective from September 2025, which parents should treat as the 2025 to 2026 fee schedule. Reception to Year 2 is £4,665 per term, Year 3 and Year 4 is £4,985 per term, Year 5 is £5,810 per term, Year 6 is £6,285 per term, Year 7 and Year 8 is £7,045 per term, and Year 9 to Year 11 is £7,740 per term. The school states that fees include lunch, textbooks and the majority of co-curricular provision.

The school also sets out typical extras and one-off charges. Registration and deposit are listed as £420 on registration, and optional extras include minibus travel at £250 per direction per term, plus additional charges for public exam fees and selected activities or trips.

Financial assistance is available, including means-tested bursaries, and the school offers scholarships at Year 6 in several categories including academic, arts, sport and all-rounder awards. Scholarship criteria and numbers of awards are published, with deadlines varying year to year, typically in the Lent term.

Nursery and pre-school fee details are published by the school, and eligible families can also access government-funded hours; parents should use the official fees page for the current early years rates and options.

• No sixth form. Education runs through to Year 11, then pupils move on elsewhere for post-16 study. Families who want a single school through A-level should compare with local independents that offer Year 12 and Year 13.

• Rolling admissions can cut both ways. Flexibility is helpful for mid-year moves, but it also means availability can shift quickly by year group. If this is a first-choice option, early visits and timely registration matter.

• VAT and extras planning. The school flags VAT on fees from Reception upwards and lists several common extras, including transport and exam-related charges. Families should model the full annual cost, not just tuition.

• Personal development is a stated improvement area. The latest ISI inspection rates personal development as good rather than excellent, and highlights areas where pupil voice and consistency of older pupils’ buy-in could strengthen. For some families this will feel minor; for others it is worth probing during visits.

Shoreham College suits families who want an all-through independent day school that is inclusive by design, with clear pastoral structures and a strong co-curricular menu that extends from forest school in the juniors to leadership, debating and STEM options for seniors. The setting is distinctive, combining historic character with specialist facilities that support practical learning as pupils approach GCSE. It best suits pupils who benefit from continuity, steady expectations and broad opportunities, and it will be less suitable for families seeking a through-to-18 pathway within the same institution.